What “disgrace” are you talking about?

YEREVAN. – It has become apparent that Armenia’s Gyumri city Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan is preparing to purchase the great Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun daily comments:

“The problem is that Tumanyan’s house was to be sold to a Turk, and, if any Armenian businessman were to prevent that, the whole world would have known that there still are people in Armenia who are ready to stand up for their national values. But now, instead, the whole world learned that Armenia is a country where a mayor, who lives on a modest salary, can allow himself to spend a huge amount and even to boast about that. And in regard to Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house, Armenia was obligated to deal with this mater on a state level, and to pay for the house from the [state] budget. And if there is no such amount in the budget, that is the fault of Vardan Ghukasyan and those like him,” Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun writes.

After reading this short article, I have to think: Am I the only one who fails to see the disgrace in this? Where were the rich Diasporans? Where was the damned state?

I say all the power to the mayor of Gyumri! Since when has a rich person gotten rich from a generous and honest nature? Why should we divert the shame from what was going to occur to the buyer’s financial dealings? Again, Armenians are directing their protests at the wrong person… really? If we cared so much about who got it, we would have pooled the money from amongst the middle class and made an “honourable” purchase, in the name of ALL Armenians. But no, no one wanted to put a hand to his pockets and as much as we found it disgraceful to have the place sold to a Turk to be turned into a bar or something of the like, no one cared enough to take action. It’s disgusting behavior on our part. Stop blaming those who do something about it and if you find their deeds disgraceful, I suggest standing up and doing something about it yourself.